A canal connecting Chicago and La Salle, Illinois. Built between 1836 and 1848, this canal allowed farmers in the valleys of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers to send grain and other products through the Great Lakes to the East Coast.

A group of Native Americans that included the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Moingwena, Peoria, and Tamaroa tribes. These tribes lived in what is now Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and parts of Missouri and Iowa until about 1660, when the Iroquois moved west and began attacking them. The Illinois suffered many attacks by other tribes and eventually settled in Indian Territory.

A system of archives and libraries in Illinois that hold local government records of genealogical and historical value. The IRAD system is divided into seven regions, each housed at a different university.

A territory of the United States consisting of what are now the states of Illinois and Wisconsin. It was formed in 1809 when the Indiana Territory was divided and existed until 1818 when Illinois became a state.

Children who move to or are sent to live in another country. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, philanthropic organizations sent an estimated 80,000 children (orphans and others) from Britain to Canada. The largest of these organizations was founded by Dr. Thomas John Barnardo.

The government agency that oversees and enforces United States laws regarding the citizenship, immigration, deportation, and naturalization of aliens. The Immigration and Naturalization Service is under the U.S. Department of Justice.

(1)*legal agreement that commits one person to work for another for a specific period of time in exchange for living expenses, travel expenses, or both. Indentures were used to bind apprentices to their masters.
(2) a legal agreement between parties that was executed in two or more copies for the purpose of transferring control, land claims, apprenticeships, etc.

An individual who could not afford the trip to America and agreed to work for the price of the trip. Indentured servants were “sold” to the captain of the ship, who delivered them to the individuals for whom they would work.

A term referring to any church in Great Britain during the 1500s and 1600s that was not the Church of England. Independent churches enjoyed their greatest power from 1649 to 1660 when Oliver Cromwell, who was an Independent, ruled England as lord protector. After Cromwell's death, the Independents became a persecuted minority. The Separatists and Puritans, who eventually settled the colonies in America, were Independents. Presbyterianism and Congregationalism formed out of Independent churches. Independents were also called Separatists.

An organized summary of a set of records or a book that allows a person to find a specific item within the set or book.

Index of Surnames of Householders in Griffith's Primary and Valuation and the Tithe Applotment Books[edit | edit source]

A surname index to people who paid taxes to the Church of Ireland or the government of Ireland between 1820 and 1864. It can help identify where an individual was living in Ireland. Also called Householders Index and Ireland Householders Index.

Index to Marriage Bonds Filed in the North Carolina State Archives[edit | edit source]

An index that contains about 170,000 abstracts of marriage bonds for North Carolina residents.

A card index containing 75,000 cards at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. It indexes information about people of western Pennsylvania that is contained in many county histories. The library staff will search for two or three specific names in the index.

A rebellion in India that occurred when British soldiers ordered Hindu and Muslim Indian soldiers to bite open cartridges greased with the fat of cows or pigs. The Hindu religion forbids eating beef, and Islam forbids eating pork. The rebellion spread and nearly succeeded, but British troops defeated the Indians in 1859. The rebellion convinced Great Britain to take over the rule of India from the East India Company. Also called the Sepoy Rebellion because the Indian soldiers were called sepoys.

The region west of the Mississippi River (in what is now the state of Oklahoma) that the United States government reserved for Native Americans. Some of the first Native Americans forced to move there were the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole). The Cherokees called this forced exodus the Trail of Tears because of the many deaths that occurred along the way. Other tribes were forced into this region in later years. The boundaries of the territory changed at various times as new tribes were resettled and as parts of Indian land were made available to white settlers.

A type of record used in Latin America, translated as genealogical reports. These records served as proof of nobility so that hidalgos might join a fraternal orders or obtain a government positions. They usually contain information about at least three generations of the hidalgo's lineage.

In English law: when the function of a lower level ecclesiastical court or authority is stopped or prevented by a higher court or authority, such as a Bishop inhibiting or preventing the performance of duties of a minister under his authority.

A record type used in the Locality and Research Methodologies sections of the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) to identify articles that contain information about institutions, such as hospitals, prisons, and jails. This record type does not include schools, which are covered under the record type School.

An agency of the United States Department of the Treasury that administers and enforces United States tax laws. It collects estate, excise, gift, and other taxes. It also provides tax advice and issues refunds to people who paid too much tax during a year. It was originally established as the Office of Internal Revenue in 1862 to collect taxes needed to pay for the costs of the American Civil War.

A file of family history information that lists several hundred million names of deceased persons from throughout the world. It also lists some vital information, such as a birth or marriage date and place. Many names in the index come from vital records from the early 1500s to 1885. Others have been submitted by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The International Genealogical Index is available on compact disc as part of FamilySearch® and on microfiche.

Another name for Eskimos, a group of people who live in the Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, Siberia, the Islands in the Bering Sea, and Greenland. Most scientists believe these groups originated in northeast Asia and that they crossed a land bridge into North America 10,000 years ago. Eskimo, meaning eaters of raw meat, is an Indian term for this people. They call themselves by different names, each of which means people. In Canada they call themselves Inuit. In Alaska they call themselves Inupiat or Yuipic. In Siberia and the St. Lawrence Island of western Alaska, they call themselves Yuit.

Another name for Eskimos, a group of people who live in the Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, Siberia, the Islands in the Bering Sea, and Greenland. Most scientists believe these groups originated in northeast Asia and that they crossed a land bridge into North America 10,000 years ago. Eskimo, meaning eaters of raw meat, is an Indian term for this people. They call themselves by different names, each of which means people. In Canada they call themselves Inuit. In Alaska they call themselves Inupiat or Yuipic. In Siberia and the St. Lawrence Island of western Alaska, they call themselves Yuit.

A shortened name for the Index of Surnames of Householders in Griffith’s Primary Valuation and the Tithe Applotment Books. This is a surname index of people who paid taxes to the Church of Ireland or the government of Ireland between 1820 and 1864. It identifies where an individual was living in Ireland. Also called the Householders Index.

A conflict was waged between two opposing groups of Irish nationalists: the forces of the new Free State, who supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty under which the state was established, and the Republican opposition, for whom the Treaty represented a betrayal of the Irish Republic. Following the Treaty's ratification, a "Provisional Government", headed by Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith, was set up to transfer power from the British administration to the Irish Free State. The Irish were sharply divided over this issue, and civil war broke out. In August 1922, Michael Collins was killed by anti-treat Republicans. The conflict ended in 1923 when the Republicans surrendered to the forces of the Irish Free State. The Irish Free State remained part of the British Commonwealth until 1948, when the country cut all ties with the United Kingdom and was renamed the Republic of Ireland.

A famine caused when the Irish potato crops planted between 1845 and 1847 failed because of a plant disease. Ireland's population had increased dramatically during the early 1800s. Most of the people lived on small farms that produced little income or rented farms from wealthy landowners. Potatoes had become a staple food for the impoverished population. When the crops failed, over 750,000 people died of starvation, and hundreds of thousands emigrated to the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world. Many thousands more Irish came to Canada during the 1830s for land and economic opportunities than during the potato famine.

The Irish Republican Army (IRA), a civilian army, mounted a war against the British government in Ireland in a bid to gain independence from the United Kingdom. A republic was declared during the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916. In 1920 the British Parliament passed the 'Government of Ireland Act' which split Ireland into two countries, each with limited self-government but remaining within the United Kingdom, and was not acceptable to the Republicans. Peace talks between the Republicans and the British government led to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. The treaty created the Irish Free State but allowed counties in the north of Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom and led to the Irish Civil War.

A federation of American Indian tribes who occupied upper New York during the 1600s. The federation was comprised of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. The Tuscarora joined the federation in 1722. The Iroquois called themselves Ongwanonhsioni, meaning "we long house builders." The Iroquois Federation was the most efficient Indian organization in North America. All of the Iroquois except the Oneida and the Tuscarora sided with the British in the French and Indian Wars and in the American Revolution. In 1779 American General John Sullivan destroyed the Iroquois villages in retaliation. After the war the Cayuga, Mohawk, and some Tuscarora moved to reservations in Canada. Most of the Oneida moved to Wisconsin, and the Onondaga and most of the Seneca and Tuscarora moved to five reservations in New York state.

A religion originally preached by Mohammed, who was born approximately A.D. 600 in Mecca, Arabia. He taught that there is only one god, Allah, and that he, Mohammed, was god's messenger. The Koran contains the words of god as spoken to Mohammed by an angel. Islam is one of the largest religions in the world, with the largest concentrations of members in the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, Albania, and Asia.